The Collection Grows

[Samwise]

VEERY very cool, Miss Estylyn!

I am still waiting for the cards I ordered... I'd sure like to know where in the world they ARE.....

Also waiting for the chess set...but that wouldn't be coming yet.....

[Child of the 7th Age]

Oh, Esty! I am also trying to get a Ravensburger puzzle. This company makes the best puzzles. I tried to order a new LotR Ravensburger puzzle for the holidays but they were totally sold out, at least at the English language sites I can access. Now they are starting to show up on e-bay so I am trying again. I'll let you know if I have any success!

As some of you know, most of my collecting is in books. That means my taste and desires are often too expensive for my means. But the other day I picked up a 1980 Guild publication Lord of the Rings for a song. The person had a Guild Hobbit up on e-bay that finished just a few minutes before. Everyone focused on that so I was able to sneak in with a $10 bid on LotR and snarf it up. It is one of those fancy leather books that weighs a ton: maroon and gold published in London that's technically a first edition.

[Samwise]

Miss Child, that sounds just wonderful.
You just collect the LOTR books, or..."HOME", and all of that kind of thing?

[Estelyn Telcontar]

It is definitely an advantage in this case that Ravensburger is a German company - I found that puzzle by chance in the supermarket, just walked past a shelf where it was on my way to the groceries!

[Child of the 7th Age]

You just collect the LOTR books, or..."HOME", and all of that kind of thing?

Samwise,

Well, I have to admit that I collect more books than anything else. It's the librarian/archivist in me! Plus....remember how Bilbo's study looked? Mine is just as cluttered with papers and stacks of books with bookmarks in them.

I've been buying Tolkien books off and on a long time--all the way back to the mid-sixties. Most of my treasures came from garage sales and library book sales where I rescued them from the depths of some bargain bin. I have a lot of paperbacks, some hardcover, a few fancier things. For the last few years, I've also haunted e-bay. My stuff takes up two good sized bookcases. But, to tell the truth, half of the fun is in the chase. You look for some things for a loooong time, and then unexpectedly you find it. So you pat yourself on the back and start all over again!

I do have all of HoMe, mainly the US editions. But some of my stuff is more lively than that, since one of the main reasons I collect books is for the illustrations. There are lots of Middle-earth artists I like, plus JRRT's own pictures. I have several posters plastered on the walls of my house that go a ways back. (They peacefully co-exist with my husband's baseball collection.) More recently, I've started buying a few calendars and oscar ads, and lots of postcards -- both from the movies and the books. Postcards are fun because you can afford to indulge even when you are broke. And all my collections are heavy on hobbits!

I also love things like statues, miniature pewter figures, little boxes and such. These go on top of my piano. Like you, my prize movie treasure is Sam with Bill the Pony. And my prize music cd is Starlit Jewel (the one from Marian Zimmer Bradley). I just got a cross stitch pattern for two scenes from the movies. We'll see if I make any progress on that.

Interestingly, my kids both have small LotR collections too. My son's is heavy on Gimli, and my daughter's on Legolas.

Basically, I live in a house which is peopled with Dwarves, Elves, Hobbits, and members of the old Brooklyn Dodgers!

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Ooh, Esty, that is nice! To pick up such a puzzle when you are grocery shopping!

[Estelyn Telcontar]

Cross stich pattern, Child?? Where did you find that? Which movie scenes does it depict? Now if someone would only develop a nice LotR patchwork pattern...

[Samwise]

Cross-stitch pattern? What cross-stitch pattern? I want to see!

I finally got my LOTR TCG cards today, 1 Realms of the Elf-Lords, 1 TTT, 1 ROTK, and 3 Fellowship.

The Two Towers

• Place: Eastemnet Gullies
• Dunlending Arsonist
• Ugluk (yeeccchh)
• Mahur (double yeeccchh--orcs look even worse in foil)
• Gandalf the White Wizard (finally--a GOOD guy!)
• Uruk pursuer
• War and Valor (pic of Boromir)
• Southron Soldier
• Sword of Rohan
• Kill Them Now (more yucky Uruk)
• Forth Eorlingas! (pic of Theoden)

Realms of the Elf Lords

• Caras Galadhon (purdy)
• Isengard Retainer (what IS with all the ORCS???)
• Citadel of Minas Tirith
• Seek and Hide (Frodo and the Cave Troll--what is this doing in 'Realms of the Elf Lords?
• Isengard Axe (and nasssty Orc....)
• One of You Must Do This (Gandalf and Boromir going at it [with words] at the Council of Elrond)
• Fireworks(....Ooooh.....Quote from Samwise the Poet: "The finest rockets ever seen:/they burst in stars of blue and green...")
• *sigh* Orc Warrior....
• Old Noakes: Purveyor of Wisdoms (Noakes was my grandmother's maiden name: go figure)
• Coming for the Ring (can you guess? Yep--bunch of nasty Orcs)

What most of these have to do with "Realms of the Elf Lords" is beyond me....


Return of the King

• Gorgoroth Engineer (Orcs must have been REALLY easy to put out!)
• Mordor Vetran (reallly yucky Orc)
• Tower of Ecthelion (finally--it's not an Orc)
• Denethor:Steward of the City (the look on his face almost reminds me of an Orc)
• Gorogoth Sapper (do I have to say it? )
• Great Gate (a pic with NO orcs)
• Peace of Mind (Pippin and Gandalf on the balcony at Minas Tirith--from the back, darn it! They can take so many pictures of ORC faces, but NO_OOO...)
• War long planned (pic of a spear-head)
• SAM--Needer of Vittles (WOOOHOOOOO! A SAM!!!) I already have this card in foil.
  One can never have enough Sam....
• Orc Chaser ('nuff said...)
• War Towers (mumakil/Oliphaunt)

Fellowship Pack 1

• Lothlorien Woods
• Nazgul Sword
• The Gaffer *grin*
• Goblin Scimitar
• Sleep, Caradhras (Yike! Avalanche!)
• Shadow's Reach (Frodo in the dark at Bag End)
• Goblin Patrol Troop
• Delving
• Stout and Sturdy (Ah, yes....don't mess with my fave Hobbit....]

Fellowship Pack 2

• Shire Lookout Point --Frodo and Sam from the back, DAG NAB IT!
• Rumil
• The Pale Blade {{{shudder}}}
• Hobbit Sword--Four swords, four Fuzzy Hobbit feet
• The White Arrows of Lorien -- Lego's gift
• They Are Coming -- "The Last thing written is a trailing scrawl of Elf-letters: they are coming. "
• Uruk-Hai raiding party (can I NOT get away from these guys????)
• Anduin Banks-The Fellowship leaving in the Elven Boats
• Eregion's Trails--the four Hobbits following Strider
• Unfarmiliar Territory --Lego getting ready to shoot in Moria

Fellowship Pack 3

• Mithril Mine (wierd...the pic is upside-down, I swear.....)
• Gandalf's Cart (with Gandalf in it)
• Merry, Friend to Sam (Yay! A Hobbit, not an Orc!)
• Orc Soldier (Ugh, speaking of which....)
• Hobbit Sword (Again)
• The Gaffer's Pipe
• The White Arrows of Lorien
• They Are Coming
• Uruk-Hai raiding party
• Anduin Banks
• Eregion's Trails

Huh....I think I got mixed up, or I very weirdly got a lot of doubles....oh, well, you're probably tired of reading this list anywho....anyway, I GOT the cards!